Sen. Rand Paul Ends Nearly 13 Hour Old-School Filibuster Over Drone Strikes
Thursday, March 7, 2013
'Your Right To Trial By Jury Is Precious'
FINAL UPDATE: Sen. Rand Paul yields the floor, bringing his 12 hours and 52 minute filibuster to a close. At approximately 12:41 a.m. ET, the senate adjourns.
(Becket Adams) The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 12 to 3 on Tuesday to confirm John Brennan as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
However, Brennan may have at least one more hurdle to clear before final confirmation, namely, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has vowed to block his nomination until the White House provides more information on its secretive drone program.
The Kentucky senator doesn’t have the 41 votes necessary to prevent a cloture vote, which would block Brennan’s confirmation, so he’s doing the only thing he can do: He’s stalling all senate business with an honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned filibuster.
“I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan’s nomination for the CIA,” Sen. Paul at approximately 11:45 a.m ET on Wednesday.
